Apple ITC win leads to HTC One X, Evo 4G LTE import holdup

Customs officials are checking devices for compliance with an exclusion order.

HTC, AT&T, and Sprint are all feeling the effects of Apple's import ban win against HTC last December. The One X and Evo 4G LTE, both Android handsets, may be delayed from their May 18 launch date as the devices are currently being held by US Customs officials. Officials are examining both devices for compliance with an International Trade Commission ban on the import of HTC devices violating an Apple patent.

Apple's "thermonuclear" assault on Android began in earnest in 2010 when Apple sued HTC for patent infringement. Along with a federal lawsuit, Apple also filed a parallel complaint with the ITC seeking the import ban. Filing ITC complaints has become a common tactic in patent infringement disputes, as the ITC tends to rule on cases quicker than federal district courts. US import bans are also potentially quite effective since nearly all smartphones and other electronic devices are produced in China.

Though Apple originally claimed HTC infringed 10 of its patents, the ITC ultimately ruled that HTC's Android smartphones ran afoul of a patent related to a feature Apple first debuted on the Mac as "Data Detectors." This is the technology that automatically recognizes certain data types—such as addresses or phone numbers— and turns them into clickable links that perform a map lookup or dial a phone number.

HTC claimed at the time that the feature was a "small UI experience" and that the feature would be removed from future devices. HTC contends that it is in compliance with the exclusion order, and has indeed removed the feature from its latest devices.

"The US availability of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE has been delayed due to a standard US Customs review of shipments that is required after an ITC exclusion order," HTC said in a statement to The Verge. "We believe we are in compliance with the ruling and HTC is working closely with Customs to secure approval."

HTC hasn't taken Apple's legal assaults lying down, however. Though the ITC dismissed the company's first ITC counterclaim against Apple, it filed another one in 2011 using five patents that Google gave to the company to aid its legal battle with Apple. Apple is seeking to have those patents excluded from HTC's second complaint, however, arguing that Google, and not HTC, has the standing to assert those patents in an ITC complaint.

As we wrote in 2010, Apple's proxy fight with Android—targeting handset makers like HTC, Samsung, and Motorola—could last for years. Meanwhile, HTC's latest devices are sitting in a Customs warehouse while officials decide if AT&T and Sprint customers will get to use them or not.